Real Madrid go into tonight’s La Liga fixture against Villarreal without leading scorer and star man Cristiano Ronaldo who begins his three-match suspension for his red card at Athletic Bilbao last week.
But with Jese in fine form, and a fit again Gareth Bale back in the side, Los Blancos should have enough to see off Villarreal.
The two sides shared the spoils back in the autumn at El Madrigal, playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw. But on the road, the Yellow Submarines are a bit erratic. They have enjoyed some fine wins – such as the 5-2 over Rayo Vallecano. But they’ve also played some dour stuff on their travels, a 1-0 defeat at Valladolid their last away trip.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti’s side have been in relentless form, going 22 games unbeaten in all competitions. One gets the sense that Los Blancos still have to move through all the gears though and are being efficient at the moment, reserving their energy for tougher tests to come. Bookies have them at 1/3 to pick up the three points today. Villarreal are outsiders at 15/2. A draw is available at 9/2.
The front three for Real Madrid should be Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Jese. To bet on any of those three being the opening scorer, their odds are 13/5, 3/1 and 7/2 respectively.
